The presence of flies, insects, and debris in a residential building or elsewhere is very unpleasant. Many devices for capturing or killing flies have been disclosed in the prior art. General recourse to their killing and removal from a household is to first kill them with a fly swatter, a rolled-up newspaper, etc., or by stepping on them if the insect is on the floor, and then removing the remains with a piece of paper, tissue or some implement. Such action generally results in the insect being partially or wholly squashed and thus smeared on the ceiling, wall, floor, etc. The practice of disposing swatted flies, insects, and debris is unhygienic and distasteful.
Several attempts have been made in the past to assist individuals in a more sanitary and effective manner in picking up and disposing of dead insects when struck with a fly swatter. U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,379 issued in the name of Nelson discloses a device for manually capturing and restraining intended insects comprising a pad of stacked singular sheets made of a collapsible sheet construction. The Nelson device is not designed to work concurrently with a fly swatter and is suited for use with live insects and is thus not in the scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,862, also issued in the name of Nelson, describes a device similar to that mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,379 and attachable to an elongated rod such as a fly swatter. This invention is not attached to the striking end of a fly swatter as in the present invention and also cannot be used concurrently as the striking surface to capture insects during the act of striking.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,328 issued in the name of Sing discloses a multi-functioning fly swatter and broom for swatting and sweeping struck flies and bugs away. The Sing device dose not include adhesive collecting means for grasping and disposing of struck insects as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,092 issued in the name of Cobble describes a trap structure configured as a fly swatter with a tubular handle with an attracting light leading the insect to an adhesive screen removable from a frame for removing the captured insect. The Cobble device does not provide for the added convenience of a stack of removable adhesive sheets such that the user can quickly provide another sheet for use. Also, the Cobble device utilizes an attractant to capture the insect and is therefore not under the scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,018 issued in the name of Reaver et al. discloses a hand-held fly swatter with a transparent rigid housing on a distal end of a handle and defining a trap to capture live insects for subsequent disposal. The Reaver et al. device also does not utilize a stack of adhesive sheets to collect struck insects either on a planar surface or during the act of flight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,150 issued in the name of Pierce discloses a fly or insect catcher having an appearance of a fly swatter comprising a sheet of adhesive material disposed on the head and a hingeably connected cover to cover the head when not in use. The Pierce design also utilizes an insecticide disposed on the cover to aid in the killing of the insect and is thus not in the scope of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,314 issued in the name of Frascone describes a one-piece, folding, adhesive insect catcher with a head portion comprising adhesive disposed on the inside of the head portion and a handle. The Frascone device does not provide means to removably detach and dispose of a singular adhesive sheet with a struck insect thereon as in the present invention.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a simple, hygienic, and convenient apparatus which provide the means for disposal of flies, insects, and debris in a simple, effective, and convenient manner and eliminate the distasteful practice of hand collection and disposal of swatted flies, insects, and debris.